Title: An empirical analysis of Online Social Network structure to understand citizen engagement in public policy and community building

Authors: Kon Shing Kenneth Chung, Akemi Takeoka Chatfield

Addresses: School of Information Systems and Technology, University of Wollongong, NSW 2522, Australia. ' School of Information Systems and Technology, University of Wollongong, NSW 2522, Australia

Abstract: With the advent of emerging web2.0 technologies, governments at all levels offer |virtual public spheres| to promote citizen engagement. However, conceptual and empirical research efforts remain scarce to date. This research examines the role of online social network structure as a mechanism for facilitating collaborative civic engagement. We discuss a case study of an Australian state government initiative – an online social network. Results show limited success with the government|s effort to increase citizen engagement. Thus, policy makers need to (re-)consider IS/business strategic alignment for governing and creating public value to sustain wider civic engagement through the online social network.

Keywords: OSNs; online social networks; network structure; civic engagement; citizen engagement; e-government; public sphere; online forum; public policy; community building; e-governance; electronic governance; electronic government; Australia; state government.

DOI: 10.1504/IJEG.2011.041709

International Journal of Electronic Governance, 2011 Vol.4 No.1/2, pp.85 - 103

Received: 15 Oct 2010
Accepted: 15 May 2011
Published online: 30 Jul 2011 *

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